and what are they actually doing in antarctica. welcome to twenty fourteen time zone by times our citizens around the world how welcome to the new yeah on the planet of course has been celebrating in style. but the new russia gives to those only stood united in place of trial. bloodier preaching says a hill fight terrorism to end in his new year message to the nation before heading to the city of volgograd where two bomber killed thirty four people. also this hour as launch year and as the eurozone at the start of twenty fourteen we'll look at what this could bring for the country based on the ever increasing

dads of does already know club. and our correspondent gives you a chance to become more familiar with the host city of sochi all the ones that to catch the eye in the report from the streets and squares all the winter games capital. hello and welcome to our team to national twenty four hour news live from moscow and you national our top main story now on the new year has just made it to how wine and now only some of the most remote islands in the pacific are still and twenty thirteen early in the eastern part of the us the crossroads of the world times square was the epicenter of holiday excitement and that's where we. some of

the famous crystal ball count down to midnight and my wow saying old along fine and new york new york the rest of the planet is by now well into the twenty fourth saying the new year i was heralded from the great wall of china out of the world's tallest skyscraper skyscraper skyscraper in dubai you can see it right now it's close to the onion of the kremlin and if the deny all perfect backgrounds with sense of protection if i want to display and of the best shots for you to enjoy and maybe you can choose your next to nation from the entire news team best wishes and happy. of course twenty sestina didn't and on the happiest of notes in russia after the bombings in volgograd that led to me appear to have travelled to the southern city devastated by two explosions which code essential and left many more injured and let's go live

to margaret how will that. margaret so what do you know about the president's agenda that. well president putin has arrived in volgograd and he has had a very busy morning he laid flowers at the site of the latest blast on monday an explosion that ripped through a trolley bus during rush hour whoknows also taking a tour of one of the hospitals here where many of the wounded are being treated he was briefed on their condition and met them personally wishing each of them a fast recovery and a happy new year the president also held a meeting with the heads of the federal security service and emergency committee on their current terror activities but the tragic events unfolded broad where we're on putin's mind however even before the new year as he rewrote that annual address to the nation pledging to fight terrorism till the very end and he was speaking for the first time not from him. outside the kremlin but from the forest city of culver

osc where it was hit by a massive flood last year. but then russia has always stood united in face of trials that argue that we are friends and school in a way to mourn the victims of the brutal terrorist attacks we need and we will continue to fight the terrorists with determination to reduce the resolve and commitment until they are all gone what do we will provide support for the victims and their families we will accomplish everything we have planned was the law and we will restore a build everything we have decided to restore our ability to pass that. will despite the new year's festivities the city is and morning until the third of january commemorating the thirty four victims of the two terror attacks. is not going that how well and thank you very much indeed. howell thank you very

much indeed for that update. all efforts to rescue a russian vessel trapped in ice in the antarctic have so far failed in australian icebreaker to abort its attempts to to the weather while a chinese one got stuck as well on its way to the russian ship website r.t. dot com to learn how this seventy four stranded people marks the beginning of the new get. and also line setting the date an agreement has reportedly been reached between iran and world powers on the implementation of the need there deal learn the details of the product on r.t. don't. write the scene. we're strong. and i think the truth. on our reporters would.

be a. little. and for launch fear there was no well i'm sure there was more to celebrate at the start of twenty four same as new year's fireworks exploded in the sky is that midnight over the comet or reagan the country became the eighteenth member of the eurozone but as always he's paul's court found out opinions on the adoption of the euro and not as unanimous as it made for us. you know you have to understand if a country wants to be independent it has to have its own independent currency a currency it prints itself and controls itself under it and his organization are calling for a referendum he says the latvian people have had the euro forced upon them and haven't been allowed their say and claimed the vast majority of the population are opposed to the move. there's always some who will benefit at the top end but the

majority will lose out will import goods from other countries at a cheaper rate which will mean we produce less and ruin the economy. recent statistics from a leading latvian pollster showed that fifty three percent of latvians are opposed to the move while only twenty two percent think it is a good idea with legitimate concerns over the state of the eurozone the bank of latvia has launched a p.r. campaign in an attempt to convince people now is the right time for the country to switch currency whenever we have a chance we explain to people that sloppier is a small open economy with both loans and deposits very much in euro's already and is again the country it's entrepreneurs and it's people will have by seeing higher ratings and lower interest rates on their on their lives although there's little public support and economic instability across the continent one leading

opposition figure says the government simply has no choice but the news business it's inevitable we took responsibility to join the eurozone when we entered the e.u. time will tell it doesn't matter what money is in our pockets it matters how much of it we have. now to make life easier for small businesses and customers alike all prices on display are going to show two amounts the price and lots and the price in euros twenty place. for too exposed to accept both flats and eras. whatever currency you choose to pay we're supposed to give you change in your us. so it's not going to work i don't know i don't know how it's going to display here for me but i hope somehow it. it will work well but of course it will be confusing especially first two weeks as people like kareena learn to adapt to the new currency the long term effects on the

not be an economy remain to be seen in this case the proof of the pudding really eating. altie riga latvia. griese seems to be fed up with. purging but despite ongoing economic woes the country which almost with almost a quarter of its population at risk of poverty is beginning its term at rotation as are tasting the e.u. president starting in january the first let's not take a quick look at how the blocks policies affected us and us and some of the european economies and in the four years of a series of measures all the nations shown here have seen their debt increase in greece and spain by forty percent and that's despite the fact all countries adopting the euro must not allow their national public debt to exceed sixty percent of gross domestic product at the same time average income of the people living in these countries has fallen except in germany and the worst of all is greece as you

can see here meanwhile the country's leaders are giving assurances that athens will leave its bailout program within the year without a big need for a third aid package one greek journalist who talks to says the e.u. did to his country is just a fairy tale. i believe that greece can give some lessons of how. in a time of crisis and when a country has a huge problem that this is the. only disaster in that we can feed some lessons to other european countries and especially countries in the european very free but there is nothing else for europeans to do expect from greece at the moment these european président see can not really make any changes in the europe in the european union that is controlled primarily by very lean and by some big financial institutions in in the core of the european union.

there's no doubt about the most anticipated moment of twenty fourteen for when to support athletes and of course that chance to shine at the olympic games in sochi and enormous amount of work has been done that because a world class resort has to be turned into an international winter sports have been pretty much from scratch and his. all you need to know about the house it. it's always been the subtopic call vacation spot for russians now it's on the world's map for winter sports so what she wore hose that sports men and women dignitaries and spectators come the winter olympics and paralympic games. sochi is one of the southernmost places in russia as the unofficial capital of the riviera of the caucasus the beaches and marina make the city popular in some

a loss skiing in the nearby mountains make it an ideal place for winter vacations. russian is of course the main language used by days in the service industry of brushing up on the english while key information signs are also being translated your first reaction to sochi is that it's big with high rising buildings and an urban attitude this may surprise many the wrong many faces to the subtropical city it base a beautiful collection of museums designers shops parks and natural mineral springs while keeping fit to wear the daily stroll is a new trend. the international olympic committee as their owner. but it won't be second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are awarded to the city of sochi. and then the six and

a half years since the pearl of the plexi has become a world class resort the olympics are renowned for reviving and regenerating host cities here the mix of new buildings rail lines and world class facilities will leave the games with a strong legacy in the caucasus for generations to come. it's easy to said that what's going to happen here is that they will have a beautiful ski resorts nice hotels nice facilities nice transport and differently they have the potential to attract tourists here dogs spread across two distinct areas the game's coastal cluster is what in the ice events in the city and the mountain cluster for sports like skiing and bob slave the two clusters only thirty minutes apart making these games one of the most compact ever held but have all the infrastructure changes made a difference for those who call sochi home including people with disabilities first

of all there are many ramps and many planes are accessible now lifts first of all the winter theater here in the square i used to visit it quite often actually my expectations were superseded by the reality i didn't expect that it would be so good a winter olympics with many firsts innovative technology and environmentally friendly to such a lympics is all set to showcase russia to the world with a sochi r.t. . stay tuned for more reports from the approach of this year's six heavily big gold rings from to say that it will be airing throughout the week here on our international. so true of the twenty fourth of june olympics so what's this boy's life line is is so special as the russian resort prepares to logan the world power the game should be the city's present and future a lot more sochi it will bring you this is the moment they are reporting from

a very cold snowy windy mountainous. beyond the olympics but the monks say. change. the shift leaves the. economic up and downs in the final months day the london new york sank night and the rest of the life during the case you will be every week on to. put it on your arm and watch the commute college face time to time you know.

a pleasure to have you with us here on our team today i roll researcher. this is also international welcome back and let's now take a few moments and look back at the main about it's a defined twentieth that scene on buzz which will leave them all. twenty fourteen the arab spring is now in its face yet but the tabula is only seems to be growing across the region as revolutions have paved the way for counting revolutions unlike peaceful democratic movements have come face to face with mounting radical islamist agendas while foreign powers have been the weighing in today make

a diplomatic impact as archie's middle east bureau chief honestly a ripple. two thousand and thirteen was a tough year and many of those same challenges are expected to follow into the new year one bright spot though could be the interim nuclear deal that was signed between tehran and world powers. three years since the arab spring and most of the region is still reeling in egypt people will head back to the polls after a year two more political uncertainty and violent upheaval. libya's a nation divided with chaos all around two years after gadhafi has fall. while it's the same old same old in the israeli palestinian peace talks. radians though might see some a spike in two thousand and fourteen after world powers clinched a breakthrough nuclear deal but amid if it's to make the six month agreement more permanent one country is determined to upset the apple cart israel's going to be

demanding things that we're going to hear extreme the males a lot of dealing and screaming i think the run isn't doing what it's supposed to do you know what it internationally as an historic deal israel's prime minister lamented it was an historic mistake tehran agreed to constrain its nuclear drive in return for temporary reprieve from sanctions the six negotiating powers agreed to recognize iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy including its right to enrichment under the conditions of this program is placed under strict control by the. syria meanwhile is on track to meet the chemical weapons destruction deadline by mid two thousand and fourteen it's a conflict that into a new phase as the waste signals to the syrian opposition that president assad may state after all. of these stories and the deeper trains they reflect are certain to remain in the headlines while the syrian civil war is going to continue to be a major story in two thousand and fourteen of course it is the major security

concern of this region it's a war that's left some one hundred twenty. thousand people did it's continued for nearly three years some six million people have been made refugees two million of them outside of the country we do expect that the war will continue to be felt outside of the country you need to look at countries for example like iraq and lebanon these people states where the sectarian violence continues to be played out the damascus government certainly does believe it can win this war and if not win it then at least retain control over the areas where it currently has its grip what we do expect for two thousand and fourteen is that the opposition will continue to be dominated by islamist extremists and the knock on effect of this is that it's going to be increasingly difficult for the damascus regime to enter into any kind of negotiations or discussion with them and at the same time you have external outside powers that are also going to withdraw the support for the opposition this means that the geneva two summit that it is currently slated for january does not

have a particularly good prognosis and adding to the problems warning on the increasing threat posed by foreign backed radical islamist. since the beginning the assad government has made it clear that it's willing to enter into talks to try to seek a negotiated a political settlement to the three year long dispute since the beginning the opposition have not wanted to have a negotiated settlement they wanted to carry out civil war they felt that they had the power of western and and other regional forces behind them but it's become quite clear and i think the september settlement between the obama administration and the russian government and the assad government to seek a negotiated settlement is an indicator that the rebels cannot win the war in spite of all of the arms and money that have come from the outside the syrian army is prevailing the syrian people in the main don't want them they rebel when they're living under their control so i think the prognosis is is quite bad for the geneva

settlement i think the assad government feels confident and is willing and is prepared in carrying out military offensives against the rebel force that it sees as it's quite split in ukraine cities how i could make up for the deep divide within the country protests continue to compass oaky have no position calls for close to ties with the he ask you now. but this is a political protest this is the anger at the country's government and the president president something which has been going on for more than six weeks now it's rather turbulent six weeks for ukraine as i mentioned my report. first they wanted to be in europe was then they wanted a revolution. that was the. ukraine's leaders feared that a free trade zone with the e.u. would cause industry to collapse the crowds never bought that but when the police

used force against peaceful bro e.u. protesters. they stopped caring altogether. government building stormed barricades built and top western politicians dropping by the german and dutch foreign ministers and a deputy u.s. secretary of state before u.s. senator john mccain weighed in taking a swipe at russia stalks while stirring up the key of crowds himself premier others with a few american is where you find me but none of them dug ukraine out of its mess mosco later agreed to help with a discount on gas prices and a fifteen billion dollar loan for the now entrenched protesters the lifeline was a sellout. any treaty with russia is not worth the paper it was signed on. key of still has the crowds what's more twenty fifteen will see ukraine choose its next president a leader who needs to make a difference in whether its embittered sides continue to fight or unite. the one

thing which are to my eyes is the happenings at the my done right now the better is the christmas tree over there usually it is a christmas tree which the authorities set up in the central square for people to come here to celebrate right now is something of a protest symbol is covered with ukrainian flag as it's covered with protest banners and even. the banner of the former prime minister yulia tymoshenko who is now in jail indeed the euro my done has become something of a state within a state it lives by its own laws people are sleeping here they set up tent camps they're cooking food and it's really unlikely they're willing to disperse it any time soon the opposition already said about its plan to hold the protesters at least until the end of january then in fact holding a huge national wide strike on a generally the twenty fourth that's how it is right now but definitely twenty fourteen will be a very turbulent year for ukrainian politics because in

a little more than twelve months from now at the end of january twenty fifteen the people will take to the polls to elect a new president and that will be some very serious political battle especially considering everything which has happened in the last two months in this country. and these are the pictures from scotland now where people have marked the beginning of what could become quite a historic yeah on september the eighteenth sconce will have to decide whether they want back country to seek independence fast. it's going to be a major year for scotland at the end of twenty four saying they're going to have that independence referendum and there is everything still to play for indeed the united kingdom this time next year could look firstly differences those campaigns set to kick into first gear to try and convince faces either way ahead of that vote we went up to scotland to speak to some of the scottish people to find out how they're feeling about the new ones the tastes have been made and the glass is empty

scotland will wake up to what's to be a very big year come september eighteenth and scottish faces will be asked yes no question should scotland become an independent country in the arguments for and against what sort of swayze to say yes what's crazy saying no i think just financially we're going to be job security not everyone's course a new year resolution of revolution i think the bank is going to get engaged trying to mark and forward to the birth of my second child outweigh the most growing whatever happens scotland's future now lies in its people's hands i think it means office going to stamp out on the road going to not look after themselves not sure which way it's going to go down so that everything leave everything to be. r.c. edinburgh. thank you very much for spending part of your holiday with it here at

the house hunters. week in the new year in this edition of crossfire we ask what is in store as we start two thousand and fourteen and what will make this year different even better from the year that has passed who should we keep our eye on and what stories should we be following. he survived war atrocities. to make a final decision. has changed his life and the world around him. by giving up. hope. and love to so many children.

nikolai the american worker on tape. searching for the twenty fourteen olympics was this boy's life and why is it so special as the russian resort prepares to welcome the world power the games shaping the city's present and future what more so its you will bring you this is the moment they're reporting from a very cold snowy windy mountainous stuff yet beyond the olympics but the monks say today on our team. summer is coming to an end didn't talk to the crew of the academic field of is waiting for the mulattoes in a research station to crank up the winter everything has to be done quickly if the wind gets any stronger the helicopter won't. be able to take off and there's no

other way of getting people onto the ship from the station they need to hurry begins tomorrow. used to be to save with union. station. now it only works during the summer. in the southern hemisphere. and ends in much. so seasonal operations are over. geological samples are gathered during the summer a loaded into containers. cold water is drained from the station and windows are boarded up and filled in with insulation. is given even the slightest chance to sneak in it will be impossible to get out.

the diesel generator was the last to be shutdown no one can survive without heat. takes just a few hours to complete. the station is ready for winter. or will fly people to make feel. good to say good to see you back here they told us you would come you're here and fortune is smiling upon us again everything's going to.